Coastal Voices: An outsiderâs views on Del Norte County

By Tamara Jones June 19, 2012 09:13 am

I’ve had the pleasure of spending the past two months in your amazing community. The first thing I did upon my arrival was pick up a copy of the local newspaper and familiarize myself with Crescent City and the surrounding area.

I was pleased to see that, unlike my local paper, yours is not full of typographical errors. The reporting is good and the stories are well written and thoughtful. I was curious to see how the local politics would shake out as you were in the midst of an election.

I arrived at a headline about dispensaries closing and public officials having faced methamphetamine and drunk driving charges. After a couple of weeks I had to give up on reading the Triplicate altogether. I found that my knowledge of local issues was detracting from my ability to enjoy the beauty and majesty of my surroundings.

Looks to this observer like you folks would be pleased that someone
is making money. It appears that the fishing and timber industries have
taken a hit. I don’t know much about the whole medical marijuana issue,
but it seems like any business would be welcome.

Last week I watched a young man strap braces to his legs, grab a
bunch of gear and scale a very tall tree to extract a model airplane
from its branches. He did it for $50. He has three small daughters and
can’t find work. As I was preparing to leave town this morning, I
couldn’t help but pick up the Triplicate. Again I was impressed with the
grammar and accuracy, but the content seems so out of touch.

Did I really read that your community may cut back public
transportation services — possibly significantly — or at best raise the
rates to compensate for a gas shortage? Really? Did I really read in the
larger article directly beside this disturbing one that “the local
transportation budget has already pegged $400,000” to support a Front
Street revitalization project?” The same Front Street that this outsider
has been observing for the past two months? Really?

I was so overcome by the beauty that is Front Street that I never
noticed the potholes.

Your local Chamber of Commerce mentioned “triggering dialogue from
visitors” in this article. This visitor would like to say that I have
never felt more spiritually enriched by my surrounding than I did while I
was in your community. You are truly blessed with natural beauty and
resources the likes of which most states can only imagine.

I hope on my next visit I will find that your elected officials have
addressed the public transportation issues. Especially since fares are
currently increasing. You are transporting people who want to work.
People who need to work. People who are climbing an enormous tree for
$50. These are your working people. The high cost of gas is not
something that just happened recently. At least not where I’m from.

Please don’t make a Front Street that is more attractive only to
people with nothing to do. The plan as mentioned sounded like an
absolute haven for the aimless people I saw on the side of the road on
my way to view Front Street for the last time. Please don’t let that
happen here while cutting transportation services to the working people.

This visitor would prefer to see Front Street remain as it is.

As an outsider, the aimless foot traffic is the only thing that has
detracted from my visit. Please don’t create more of it by cutting off
services to your local workers.